ABOUT US

W. Harvey & Sons are Shellfish Merchants that have sourced, cooked and traditionally hand-picked crabmeat and shellfish in Newlyn, Cornwall since 1955.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT W HARVEY & SONS

We have put together some information about who we are, what we do, where we work, where we have come from, who we buy from, how we operate, how our shellfish is caught and how you can buy from us.

It's not possible to write everything down and we wouldn't want you to switch off!

We do hope you get a little of the taste of W. Harvey & Sons.

PAUL, JULIAN & MATTHEW

Paul (pictured left) is a grandchild of William Harvey, joined in 1974 becoming Partner in 1981. He takes responsibility for: UK wholesale orders, shellfish collections, crab and lobster cooking, our Shellfish Shop and bait & gear sales. Paul lives in Newlyn; is married with two grown sons and enjoys good food, gardening, radio, walking, cooking and shopping.

Julian (pictured centre) is a grandchild of William Harvey, joined in 1985 becoming Partner in 1994. He takes responsibility for: e-commerce, estate maintenance, IT, staff welfare, management meetings, staff forums and our corporate image. Julian covers Paul's, Matthew's and his nephew Will's absences. Julian lives in Newlyn, is married with two young children and enjoys good food, cycling, walking, technology and getting a good bargain,

Matthew (pictured right) is a great grandchild of William Harvey, joined in 1993 becoming Partner in 1997. He takes responsibility for: EU sales, finance, recruitment, e-commerce, transport management, insurance, packaging and utilities. Matthew lives in Newlyn, is single and enjoys good food, reading, cooking, rugby and gardening,

Paul, Julian and Matthew enjoy a common interest: Great Cornish Handpicked Shellfish, a perk of their jobs!

MEET THE W.HARVEY & SONS TEAM!

Our hard working team is dedicated to bringing you the freshest and tastiest shellfish. We are all pictured in our 60th year at the top of the harbour in Newlyn, our home since 1955. We directly employ on full time contracts all the people that work on the factory floor, drive our vehicles and man the phones because we believe that zero hours means zero motivation and zero job satisfaction. Our team has given an incredible 500 years combined service and 18 of our team have given over 10 years service each. Our team is clearly very able to fulfill any order, small or large.

Thank you very much for all your hard work!

FAMILY BUSINESS

As school aged sons and daughters we learnt to appreciate the value of money by working on the shop floor alongside some of the staff we now employ. Our business education started at a young age observing how our parents gave instructions to staff, took orders from customers and struck deals with our fishermen suppliers. No favours were shown and when we asked why we were doing the dirtiest of jobs, we got told because one day we would have to tell somebody to do exactly the same task. Each of us is extremely proud to be carrying on the traditions of a business set up and established by older family members. Living and working in a beautiful part of the world is another perk of the job!

FOUR GENERATIONS, 60 YEARS & COUNTING...

A family business successfully trading into the fourth generation is extremely rare these days. We are all determined to honour the legacy set up by our predecessors and pass our business onto the next generations.

WONDERFUL CRAB PICKERS

We have been hand picking crab for generations - some of our staff are third generation! Our staff use nimble fingers along with their dexterity, skill and experience to pick you the tastiest morsels of shellfish from all the nooks and crannies.

Their work speed is mesmerising!

WILL SHELLFISH TANKS

Will Harvey is one of several fourth generation descendants to have worked at W. Harvey & Sons. Will follows in his Grandfathers, Uncles and cousins footsteps by supervising the running of our Live Shellfish Storage Tanks at Sandy Cove next to the South Pier. Will holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Marine Biology from Plymouth University, has several years service and is a keen sea angler so he knows exactly what healthy shellfish look like.

FRESHLY PACKAGED

Our Cooked & Processed Packing Team, Keith and Lee, have racked up over 40 years service between them and have worked in just about every department. They have honed packing and despatching our products down to a fine art, complying with our full HACCP program and helping to ensure the integrity and chill-chain of our products at every stage. If there is ever a problem, they have most likely fixed it before you hear about it!

HAPPY CUSTOMERS

W. Harvey & Sons Shellfish Merchants, with 60 years experience in the Shellfish Industry, are committed to looking after and helping our customers, who we regard as an extension of our business. We do not employ pushy salesmen, instead we value every customer and every sale.

A simple quality threshold is operated: if we aren't happy enough to take our products home ourselves we will not sell them. Another principle is that you can only sell rubbish to people once, our customers come back to us again and again. A third principle is that we have no set minimum order level . . . from small acorns vast forests grow . . . you may be a small prospective customer now but in time you could be a major buyer!

NEWLYN HARBOUR PENZANCE

The village of Newlyn has grown together from previously distinct hamlets many of which were separated by bodies of water at high tide: Tolcarne, Trewarveneth, Streetanowan and Newlyn Town. The village lies within Mounts Bay, to the west of Penzance and is tucked under Gwavas and Paul. Harbour activity was first recorded in 1435 by the Bishop of Exeter. The port is now one of the largest fishing harbours in the UK and is the first 24/7 harbour available to boats fishing Southwest Atlantic waters.

Newlyn harbour is home to potters, handliners, netters, scallopers, beam trawlers, multi-rig trawlers, the Penlee Lifeboat and acts as a port of refuge in bad weather. Floating moorings give berthing facilities for local and visiting yachts. The Harbour Master & his team are very helpful and run the harbour, fish market and surrounding areas for the benefit of a diverse group of stakeholders. Elected Harbour Commissioners from a wide background serve voluntarily to provide advice to the Harbour Master.